Harmes, Marcus K. (2013) The seventeenth century on film: patriarchy, magistracy and witchcraft in British horror films, 1968-1971. Canadian Journal of Film Studies , 22 (2). pp. 64-80. ISSN 0847-5911
Abstract
This article argues that the a series of films made between 1968 and 1971 and set in the seventeenth century mark a departure not only from the typical setting of British horror films, but also from what was then the prevailing portrayal of patriarchal authority in Britain's horror output. While the films examined in this paper have often been read as aligned with and sympathetic to counter cultural forces, and thus as a refraction of contemporary 1960s social unrest through a seventeenth century lens, this paper finds in them a contrary position. It suggests that bringing the seventeenth century onto the screen allowed horror filmmakers working for the smaller Tigon company to re-endorse the fatherly authority that Hammer, Britain's largest horror studio, was then calling into question.
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Item Type: | Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C) |
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Refereed: | Yes |
Item Status: | Live Archive |
Additional Information: | This publication is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for the purposes of study, research, or review, but is subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source. |
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current - USQ Other |
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current - USQ Other |
Date Deposited: | 03 Dec 2013 23:34 |
Last Modified: | 04 Feb 2015 05:27 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | witchcraft; Britain; horror cinema; Tigon Films; English Civil War; Michael Reeves (film director); Gordon Hessler (film director); Piers Haggard (film director); American International Pictures |
Fields of Research (2008): | 19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing > 1902 Film, Television and Digital Media > 190201 Cinema Studies 21 History and Archaeology > 2103 Historical Studies > 210305 British History 16 Studies in Human Society > 1608 Sociology > 160806 Social Theory |
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008): | E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970121 Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology |
URI: | http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/24314 |
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